Photo: Getty Images
The RICO trial involving Young Thug and his co-defendants hit another bump after several jurors were caught on camera.
On Wednesday, November 29, the State called its first witness Detective Mark Belknap to the stand to testify about the Georgia native's alleged ties to gang activity. During his testimony, one of the cameras that were livestreaming the proceedings showed Belknap as he returned to the witness stand following a break. The camera inadvertently showed the faces of four jurors. Screenshots of the jurors were shared to blogs like No Jumper, which caused some people to reveal their identities. Judge Ural Glanville immediately halted the trial and discontinued recording for the day.
Due to some security issues not attributed to anybody in this courtroom or the parties and the fact that we've had some inadvertent recording of some of our jurors on the front row, would it be appropriate or ok if you all would not continue to film Detective Belknap?" Judge Glanville asked the media. "You're more than welcome to record audio, but is that something you'd be willing to do please?"
It took 10 months to lock in a legitimate jury pool. Despite the identification of some of the jurors, there are alternates that were selected in case any of them have to be replaced. However, it seems like Judge Glanville aims to move on from the incident unless more serious issues arise. This was the latest hiccup in the YSL RICO trial since it started on Monday. Young Thug's attorney Brian Steel motioned for a mistrial on day one due to alleged misconduct on the State's end.
Young Thug is facing 8 of 65 counts that were listed in last year's indictment. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.